


always stay gold

by rosesau



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28868382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesau/pseuds/rosesau
Summary: New York City was covered in snow; Percy and Annabeth wanted to see the sunrise.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	always stay gold

New York City was blanketed in a layer of fresh snow.

The city that never sleeps was, in fact, mostly asleep as Percy and Annabeth strolled down Central Park. It wouldn’t be long before people started waking up and the city was abuzz, but for now Percy revelled in the rare quiet. The sun hadn’t risen yet and the sky was the kind of purple that would eventually melt into something gentler. Typically, there were a select few early risers who roamed the park at opening hour; Percy assumed last night’s snow had kept the city’s residents tucked in bed for a little while longer. Percy himself wouldn’t have minded cozying up to his favorite person, their cat wedging his way in between them.

Annabeth had her arm wound through Percy’s and she was going on about the park’s history. Percy wasn’t particularly interested in listening to the history of Central Park. He’d grown up here. The city was in his blood. He had no interest in knowing that countless sheep once resided in the park. But Percy was always interested in the sound of Annabeth’s voice and the way it settled around him, a warmth like no other.

“I mean, it used to just be mud,” Annabeth was saying. Her fingers curled around Percy’s arm. “Like swamps and rocks everywhere. They had to blow up the rocks with a fuckton of gunpowder to make room for a lot of things. And drain the swamps so they could install pipes. You know, for the lakes and streams.”

Above them the sky faded into soft pinks and blues, blending into a cool grey that reminded Percy of Annabeth’s eyes. Under his feet, the snow and asphalt were a darker shade of Annabeth’s eyes but nowhere as warm.

“There was so much to this place before the park,” Annabeth continued in that way of hers. Percy wanted to stop them right there, take her face in his hands, and look into her eyes to see the exact shade of grey that made his insides warm. But she was talking about the history of the park and Percy wanted to drink in the sound of her voice. So he didn’t stop them.

Just then, Annabeth glanced at him. “Are you listening?”

It was still dark, but Percy could see that her cheeks were flushed from the cold. The tip of her nose was pink. He was sure the fondness he felt was etched into his features. “Yeah. I’m listening.”

“There was a whole community that lived here,” Annabeth said, tightening her grip on Percy’s arm. He felt the warmth of it even through his layers of clothes. “Seneca Village. It was a pretty substantial Black community that thrived here before the village was destroyed for the park. They had proper churches and schools and cemeteries.” _That_ Percy hadn’t known and he wondered how Annabeth knew. “We still don’t know much about what happened to the residents after everything was demolished. Someone dug up stuff a few years ago, but I’m not sure there’s a lot that’s been found out for sure.”

“How do you know all this?”

She shrugged. “I was curious. Feels weird to walk around here knowing it used to be _home_ to people.”

“It’s still home to some,” Percy said. Annabeth might already know since she knew everything, but he had this bit of Central Park trivia up his sleeve. “Twenty-five people listed it as their permanent residence on the 2010 census.”

Annabeth untangled herself from Percy as they came to their stop. “I knew that, pretty boy.”

Percy laughed and used his gloved hands to brush off the thin layer of snow from a bench. He shook his hands in Annabeth’s face, spraying her with melting snowflakes, and laughed when she whined and pushed back at him. He pulled her onto the bench with him and wrapped his arms around her.

“Do you think the ducks think of here as their home?” He didn’t know if ducks thought of any place as _home,_ but the ducks at the park were around all the time.

“Which ones?” Annabeth asked, staring at the frozen lake with no signs of wildlife.

“You know. The ones from here.”

“They’re probably down at the reservoir. I don’t think they’re as concerned about ‘home’ as humans are.”

Percy hummed. Every winter, the ducks from the pond and the lake migrated to the larger body of water that was usually less likely to freeze.

“Do you think some of them could be in the lake still?”

“It’s… frozen. Like it’s all ice.”

Percy could see that. “Yeah, but you know how fish can survive in frozen lakes and ponds? What if ducks can too?”

Annabeth laughed. “They’d get frostbite, dumbass. Fish _live_ underwater. Ducks don’t.”

“What if I melt the lake?”

Annabeth looked up at him, a smile hanging from her mouth and a happy glimmer in her eyes. “If you want to see the ducks that badly, we could just walk to where they are.”

Percy looked from the girl in his arms to the sun creeping up slowly, slipping a hint of warmth in the sky. Annabeth had wanted to watch the sunrise at the park. That was why they’d come here so early, bundled in sweaters and jackets and scarves. Percy looked back at Annabeth, who was still gazing at him with that same soft curiosity. The streak of grey in her hair peeked out from under her beanie and Percy tugged at it lightly. Then he kissed her forehead because he could.

“I’m good here.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around her as the sun rose higher and bathed them in golden light. This was home.

**Author's Note:**

> i havent read the books so i hope this was okay i just wrote it for friends skhfkd come say hi on tumblr @rosesau if u want <3


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